stick electrodes

[TOMWELDS]

Several of you have mentioned how certain brand electrodes run better than others. I mostly use 7018ac, 6011. Which brands do you find to be superior? TIA....Tom

BTW: i presently use Esab electrodes in 7018ac and 6011. I use MG for others.

[moody2.0]

I like the esab 7014s....great rods...used them in the start of my welding class and then we ran out and went to 7018DC

I find the 7018s harder to control with that arc but with the 7014 you can basically drag teh rod down the workpiece.

[J Hall]

7014 is a drag rod.....
7018, Atom Arc was always good, and moisture resistant.
I prefer MG 7018MR, starts hard, welds nice.
Almost everyone else prefers Excalibur.
Hobart is nice when it is dry.

[TOMWELDS]

What's the price on the MG 7018? Ive used there 500 and 600 before.

[J Hall]

1.85/lb for 1/8" MG 518, which is 7018MR

[Sparkeee24]

Howdy howdy! I too advise 7018's in the MR version, this moisture resistant is sooooo nice for us weekend warriors out there who don't have a kiln/rod oven. My favorite rod is the 7014 Hobarts though. i use it all the time. But I clean my materials real good first before welding, so the 6010's aren't so neccesary. The 7014's are NOT a good all position rod in my mind though. Just for fillets and laps and such. I like the excaliber rods as well. i here some of the MaKay rods are really nice too. Good luck, brian Lee Sparkeee27

[out in the shop]

mr/hr or moisture resistant rod is not immune to absorbtion, mr4/hr4 means it can stay out of the oven for 4 hrs before its gotta go back in. for cert. work. i do like the esab 7018, my co. mostly buys lincoln 50 lb. tins of 7018hr4, every now and again we will get the esab and there is a big difference.

[TOMWELDS]

a big difference as in, better or worse? (esab vs lincoln)

[trevwelder]

What's the price on the MG 7018? Ive used there 500 and 600 before.

Here in Idaho 10lb 1/8"is about 25.00$, 50lb 1/8" is about 122.00$. I have not bought any for about 2 weeks. Prices change so fast that its hard to keep up with it.

[out in the shop]

i like the esab better, but if my co. is buying the lincoln stuff, its because its cheaper

[enlpck]

In 7018, I prefer the ESAB to the lincoln, haven't run the current hobart, but hear good things about it.

The main reason for the preference is the slag... The esab slag comes off much easier, and the lincoln is especially tough to get out deep in the groove on the first couple lo-hi passes.

[coalsmoke]

Lately I have been running a lot of Hobart's 7018 H4 and really like, except for the fragile flux coating. It welds real nice though, great for out of position.

[Aeroweld]

At present I am using Murex in 3/32 7018. Basically for few reasons.
1 My supplier carries it "on the shelf"
2. I dont have a rod oven at present and my supplier allows me to open the can then re-pack into sealed plastic bags at about 5-6lbs ea. for storage. True, not a good as an oven but I don't often do any "code" welding that is critical so that storage method works just fine for me.
3. Price is good. I disremember what I paid for the last 50 lb can but it was considerably less expensive that the Hobart or Atom Arc if i were to special order those. All excellant rods I might add and would not be afraid to use them. In fact Atom Arc would probably be a first choice of all 3 if it was readily available from my supplier.

I've also used Thermodyne Weldco in 7018 3/32. I really don't care at all for their rod. In a pinch I still buy some Thermodyne 7018 in 1/8, and 5/32 in 5lb and 10lb for a particular job but it is far from first choice if given the option. With all the sizes there was never a strength question, Just I found it tough to weld with and visual results were never satisfactory to me.

The only other 2 mild steel electrodes I keep in stock are 6010 and 6013. the 6010 is Lincoln 5P+. While I've used 6010 for a long time, It is the first can I bought of 5P+. For my work I think I think I prefer the standard 5P though; It seems to have a better "dig" than the 5P+. Any opinions out there on that?

I think the 6013 I have is Lincoln Fleetweld 37 in 3/32 dia. IIRC. I use very little of that rod and have used other brands and they all work acceptably to me

BTW, Someone earlier mentioned that 7014 was a "drag rod". That is not a truely correct statement. Buy having a "1" numerical designation located in the second from right position indicates that it is an "all position" rod; used for flat, horizontal, vertical, and overhead welding. 7024 is normally associated as a "drag rod" as the number 2 indicates flat and horizontal position only.

[westval]

I will throw a vote in for Hobart rod too. I've noticed that the same brand with a different lot number can make a difference too. I try to buy 500# or so of the same lot at a time for the shop. Garage at home doesn't matter. It takes a month to burn up 10-20 lbs of rod. No outlet for ESAB around here that I'm aware of. You guys give it high praise though.